Jimmy Rush began planning his 80th birthday celebration about three decades ago.
He got the idea when he spotted a sign at a restaurant in Mobile, Alabama, that read: “Free oysters to any man 80 years old accompanied by his father.”
Rush, then around 50, decided that’s how he would mark the milestone.
“My dad is in good health, and I thought he could make it, which he did,” Rush said.
Indeed, on Rush’s 80th birthday, Feb. 23, he walked into Wintzell’s Oyster House with his father, Jim Rush, to claim their free oysters. Jim Rush is 99.
“We were delighted,” said Jim Rush, who has been frequenting Wintzell’s Oyster House since it opened in 1938 as a six-stool oyster bar downtown. He would often go with his own father.
The restaurant is covered wall-to-wall in signs with wisecracks and one-liners including, “I don’t like gossip but what else are you supposed to do with it?” and “Home: where you can scratch any place that itches.”
“The signs have just become part of the restaurant’s personality,” said Clay Omainsky, whose family took over the restaurant in 2000. They opened two other locations in Mobile County.
Omainsky said the signs were already up when his family bought the business, and they were part of the previous owner’s vision. There are about 12,000 signs, and most are replicated in the other two restaurants.
“All of the sayings on the wall are things he either coined himself or that he heard from other people and thought were funny sayings,” Omainsky said, adding that the original owner wrote a memoir and said the signs were a worthwhile investment.
“People love reading the signs and they forget that their food is taking too long,” Omainsky said.
He doesn’t know exactly when the father-son free oysters sign was put up, but said it could have been nearly 90 years ago, when the average life expectancy was about 61.
“It looks like one of the older ones … probably one of the initial signs that he had displayed,” Omainsky said.
Omainsky said he believes the Rushes are the first pair to claim the free oysters at the original location. A different father and son cashed in on the offer at the West Mobile restaurant about 10 years ago.
“It’s very rare,” Omainsky said.
Jimmy Rush’s younger brother Carl planned the 80th birthday party at the restaurant, knowing that his older brother had long dreamed of the free oysters. About 60 people attended.
“We’ve been talking about it for 30 years,” said Carl Rush, 77, referring to the sign. “Some of the friends at the party were just there to make sure it happened.”
Family and friends watched as Jim and Jimmy Rush — who live together in Pensacola, Florida — enjoyed their dozen free oysters. The Rush family paid for the rest of the food for guests, including shrimp and grits, gumbo, fried chicken and plenty of oysters.
“We just said keep them coming,” said Carl Rush, who lives in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.
Jim Rush and his late wife raised their three children — Jimmy, Carl and their younger sister, Dorothy — in Mobile. After serving in World War II and the Korean War, Jim Rush worked 31 years at the local post office. In retirement, he moved to a waterfront home in Gulf Shores, Alabama, and he lived there for about 35 years. He would often catch seafood right in front of his home.
“Within five minutes of closing the door I could be down there shrimping, oystering, crabbing or fishing,” Jim Rush said.
Oysters have always been the family favorite.
“I’d rather have oysters than anything else,” Jim Rush said.
For many years, the Rushes had an annual tradition of eating at Wintzell’s Oyster House before riding in the local Mardi Gras parade.
“We did that for about 20 years,” Carl Rush said.
Jim Rush — who has five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren — said he has maintained his health: He isn’t on any medication and has been seriously sick only twice in his life. When he was 5, he had Scarlet fever, and when he was 97, he had his appendix removed and caught covid in the hospital. Despite having macular degeneration, Jim Rush still walks four to five miles a day.
“I can’t see much but I can see enough to walk around,” he said. “I feel good all the time.”
While Jim Rush said there’s no secret to his long life, he believes eating copious quantities of oysters — which are rich in vitamins and minerals — has contributed to his health.
“I like them just raw, right on the shell,” said Jim Rush, adding that he takes them with a splash of hot sauce.
Although Wintzell’s Oyster House’s doesn’t require patrons to show ID when claiming free oysters, the Rushes were proud to display theirs.
“It was like, this is real, this is happening,” Omainsky said. “In a world where everything changes and there’s not a lot you can rely on, it’s nice to know that promises still get kept even if it takes 80 years.”
Omainsky said the afternoon was even more joyful than he anticipated.
“It wasn’t the free oysters. … It was the fact that there was an 80-year-old man who walked in the door with his father, and to hear that this is something that they’ve actually aspired to achieve, that is pretty cool,” he said.
After Fox 10 News covered the story, Omainsky got a call from a woman asking if she could come for free oysters with her mom when she turns 80.
“We’d give free oysters to any 80-year-old woman with her mother,” Omainsky said. “We would never be discriminatory about that.”
The Rushes said finally getting the free oysters was a thrill, and they’re stunned by the attention they’ve received.
“We were out for oysters, and there were two couples on either side of us who had seen us on television,” Jimmy Rush said. “It seems like everywhere we go.”
They’ve already been back to the restaurant, which is about an hour-long drive from their home, three times since the celebration. They’ve been offered a dozen free oysters, priced around $19.99, each time.
“The sign doesn’t say you only get them once,” Jimmy Rush quipped.
Carl Rush’s 80th birthday is Oct. 1, 2028, and he plans to celebrate it at Wintzell’s Oyster House, sharing a plate of free oysters with his dad.
“I intend to be there,” Jim Rush said.
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